Tomorrow Will Be Kinder
by BrokenHeartsOverBroadway
Summary: When Katniss Everdeen gets back from the arena the first time, she is positive that she and the boy and the bread are safe. But she is sadly mistaken, when both of their lives are at stake because of their little stunt at the Games.
1. Chapter 1

Katniss sat in the living room of her house, she didn't know what to do with herself. She couldn't sleep, she didn't want to eat, she wasn't exactly hungry. She sat at the table in her kitchen, her head in her hands. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair, which wasn't in her signature braid for once. Her boots were lying by the door, next to her jacket which was hung up on a small hook. She watched as her mother moved through their small house, helping Prim with some herbs that she had picked. Katniss closed her eyes, just trying to forget what she had seen in the last month.

She tried to forget the way the mutts looked, the corpses that were lying around the arena. She tried to forget her thoughts about Peeta, about her fear of him dying. She tried to forget about how desperately she needed him to stay alive. She tried to forget how easily she gave into his plan. How much she needed him, she tried to forget everything.

The thing about forgetting, is that it's never simple. It's forever implanted in your mind, until it seems to reach the back. Katniss sighed as she opened her eyes once more, she looked toward the door. No one was standing there, of course. She took another deep breath, just trying to get her mind to quiet down, even if it was just for a little bit. Ever since she got back from the arena, sleep didn't come easy to her, not that it ever had before. But it seemed more difficult to her, her mind would never keep quiet, just reminding her of things that she would like to forget.

Katniss knew what was to come. She knew that she had defied the Capitol. She knew that things would not be easy from now on. She knew that President Snow would be back, and he would be back with a vengeance. When she got back to District Twelve, she heard about the death of Seneca Crane. She couldn't help but somehow think that it was her fault, that she had caused it. After all, if Peeta and herself had never used the nightlock in the last few minutes of the games, Seneca Crane would have still been able to be Gamemaker. But that's all out of the window now, he's dead because the games did not go as planned.

Katniss got up from her place at the table, heading over to the door pulling her boots on. Maybe a walk in the woods would clear her head, or at least, a walk in the district. There was talk lately of more peacekeepers, and everything being more strict than it had been in the past. Katniss was already on the radar for the Capitol, she didn't need to give them any more reason to kill her.

When she opened the door, on the other side of it was Peeta. Katniss didn't understand what happened from the second that she opened the door to the moment she found herself in his arms. The three seconds that it had taken didn't exactly process in her mind. Her arms wound themselves around his shoulders softly. There was nothing to say, and even if there was, she wouldn't say anything. There was something about being in Peeta's arms that made everything okay. She took a small calming breath, before opening her mouth to speak.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him as she looked into his face, there was flour in his hair, and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. She reached one of her hands into his hair in order to get it out. Her smile soon faded as she realized that he wasn't smiling. "Peeta, are you okay?" She asked him. He shook his head softly.

"No, I'm not... Katniss... We need to get out of the District."

The words didn't exactly process in her mind correctly, she just stared at him for what seemed to be hours. Her eyes moved from him, to the floor, back to him. She didn't understand why they had to leave. "Peeta... Why? Why do we have to leave the district?" She asked, her voice raising a small octave. Something that seemed to happen when she panicked, or whenever it came to Peeta for that matter. Her arms moved from his shoulders as she stepped aside to let him come in. "Peeta... what's going on?" She asked him, as she led him to the table.

She watched him as he put his head in his hands, he took a deep breath. Katniss sighed softly. "Are you going to tell me why we need to leave?" She asked him again as she put a bowl of stew in front of him. She watched him as he shook his head softly. "Peeta..." She pleaded with him as she took a seat across from him.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew that Katniss would never leave if a reason wasn't attached. He understood that. "Katniss... I don't know how to tell you." He whispered as he looked up to find her eyes. "I just..." His voice trailed off. His eyes casted down again to the table, taking a spoonful of the stew. After he swallowed the spoonful, he cleared his throat. "President Snow... He's looking for me, Katniss." He said, defeated.

Her eyes widened softly, she didn't know what to do. Her heart seemed to stop as she processed those words. "What do you mean... That he's 'looking for you'?" She asked him, grabbing his hand on top of the table. She couldn't even lie to herself, her fear had set far under her skin at this point. "What does he want with you?" She asked him.

Peeta's hands were shaking softly, he couldn't even get another spoonful into his mouth. Peeta was terrified for his life, again. It was as if he had gone through another reaping. He didn't know how to make sense of anything. He just knew to be scared. "Katniss, he wants to kill me. He thinks we're planning a rebellion, I know nothing about a damn rebellion!" He exclaimed to her, tears forming in his eyes. "I didn't plan to try and defy the gamemakers! I didn't plan for the riots to happen in District Eleven! Shit, I didn't plan to still be alive!"

Katniss' heart seemed to be breaking at the sound of every word, she didn't know what was happening, all she knew was that she needed him to be safe. If worse came to worse, it would be her that needed to die, not him, never him. Her own tears formed as she looked at him. "Where would we go?" She asked him. Her hand reaching up to wipe his eyes.

"That's the problem, I don't exactly know yet." He said, his voice shaking. "But we need to get out of here, Katniss." He said to her, as he put his head in his hands. "Katniss, what if Snow is going to kill me, like I've heard? Then what do I-" He didn't even get the chance to finish his sentence before Katniss cut him off.

"You're not going to be murdered, I won't allow it, okay?" She said, wiping her own tears. She stood up from her spot at the table, pulling off her boots that she had put on. "We'll figure something out, I promise. Nothing is going to happen to you. Nothing." She said softly. Her voice was never this soft, unless she was talking to Prim. She tried her best to hide her tears from him, but it was no use. "You'll be f-fine." She said, her voice cracking.

She wiped her eyes, trying her best to conceal her tears, but nothing seemed to be working. Just when she thought everything was safe, the boy with the bread was in danger, once again.


	2. Chapter 2

A few hours later, Katniss was sitting on the floor of her living room, lacing her boots. She had undone the laces about five times, she didn't understand why she was so stressed out. She didn't know why this struck her as abnormal. She knew that people from the Capitol were going to go after them. She expected this. She didn't know why this was so surprising to her. She sighed, looking at Peeta who was painting something on his arm using berries that he found around the district.

"Katniss, you should get some rest, you look like you haven't slept in days." He says, "And stop taking off the laces from the boots, it's not going to help you very much."

Katniss shook her head softly, not breaking her gaze from her boots. She refused to look at him, she refused to let him see how badly this was affecting her. She refused to let him know anything. "I'm fine, okay. Don't worry about me." She whispered, removing the laces from her boots once more.

Peeta shook his head and sat down beside her, he placed his hand over hers lightly to stop her. "Come on, Katniss, I know you better than that. I know that you aren't fine. Don't lie to me." He said softly, planting a small kiss on the side of her head. She sighed, letting her guard down, leaning into his side. "Go to sleep, Katniss. I'll be here when you wake up, I promise."

Katniss shook her head once more, coming out of his arms and getting to her feet. "If we're going to flee the district, we have to leave, now." She said, remembering the current task at hand. For the few hours that she was messing with her boots, she had forgotten. "Where are we going to go, Peeta?" She asked him once more as she headed to where she slept with Prim.

"We'll try and go to District thirteen." He told her. She stopped in her tracks, her head moving so that she was looking at him. She looked at him with a confused look, along with a look of disbelief. She didn't seem to process what he had just said.

"Peeta, I don't know what all the bread in the bakery has done to you, but if you have forgotten... There is no District thirteen!" She said, her voice raising to him. She didn't like being frustrated. She didn't know where they would go, and most likely, they would end up dead. At least in her opinion. "We'll be dead by tomorrow morning!" She shouted at him.

"Don't yell at me, Katniss! What idea could you possibly have that is better? Jump over the fence and live in the woods!" He countered. "Don't be ridiculous!" He was visibly angry now. He knew that his life wasn't the only one at stake. "We only have this option!"

"No! We don't, Peeta!" Katniss said, looking at him right in the face. "We can go live in the woods, and we can make it! There's a higher chance of us surviving there than us trying to make it to District thirteen. It doesn't exist!" She said, stressing every syllable that passed her lips.

"It does too!" He shouted at her, groaning in frustration. "Would you just trust me for once! I'm not as stupid as you think!" He ran his fingers through his hair, exasperated at the entire situation. "District thirteen was never completely obli-"

"Yes it was!" She shouted at him once more. "Maybe you are as stupid as people think, Peeta! There is no District thirteen. If there was, would you think we would have the games at all!"

The question actually struck Peeta as a valid one, he was going to say something before the words set in. He slumped his shoulders as he looked at her. "But what if they've just been hiding this whole time? Katniss, let's face it, we have no other place to go." He said softly.

Were they both at fault here? What would they even do? She thought to herself, packing a small bag in her room. She stuffed a few shirts, along with her mockingjay pin. She pulled out her bow from under her bed, along with the arrows. She didn't know what was stirring inside of her, it was a small feeling of emptiness.

She ran her fingers over the fabric of the comforter. It wasn't too long ago when her mother, Prim, and herself moved into this house. It was her new house in Victor's Village. She sighed softly as she stood up from her spot on the floor. She walked into the living room, the bag on her back.

Peeta looked up from where he was sitting at the table. "Are you ready to go?" He asked her, watching her as she nodded softly. She had nodded, but she couldn't find the strength to move. She tried to move her legs, but it was as if they were glued to the carpet.

"I can't move." She whispered, looking at him. Her heart felt as if it was in a million pieces, and the pieces were scattered all over Panem. "After all of those nights of wanting to come home..." She murmured, her eyes closing. "Where do we go first?" Her feet dragged along the floor as she made her way to him.

He wrapped his arms around her middle, just pulling her to him. "We'll head out west." He said, burying his face in her hair. He sighed softly, just tightening his arms around her. "Should we go now?" He felt her nod, but now he was the one who couldn't find the strength to move. "Maybe we could hide out here."

Katniss shook her head, "You know that they'll catch us." She whispered, coming out of his arms. She unlocked the door, peeking her head out. "Come on," She said to him, jumping down the steps.

"Katniss, be careful." Peeta said to her, carefully walking down the steps. "We couldn't want you to fall now, would we?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Have we forgotten who slept in trees?" She asked him.

"Did we forget who used to fall out of them?" He responded to her, attempting to lead the way.


	3. Chapter 3

It seemed to Katniss that they had been walking for hours, her calves ached, her back hurt, and the soles of her feet were sore. She looked ahead of her, seeing nothing but forest for miles. They had made it past the peacekeepers, and the gate that separated the District from the forest. Katniss walked towards the tallest tree she could see, and she sat under it.

The sun had already set, and it was dark and cool out. Katniss sighed, resting her head on her knees that were now bent as she set her bag beside her. "Do you have the faintest idea where you're going?" She asked Peeta as he took his own seat beside her.

"I just know that we have to keep walking north. People say that District thirteen wasn't too far from here." He said softly, taking one of her hands in his own. He swallowed softly, "Katniss... During the games, you didn't have any feeling for me... At all?"

Katniss seemed to be dumbfounded by the question, and she didn't want to exactly answer it in the wrong way, as the wrong answer would be equal to Peeta running off and doing something completely stupid. "I did..." She whispered softly, it wasn't exactly a lie. She wouldn't lie to him, after she knew what it had caused the last time.

He looked as if he doubted her, she sighed softly. "I don't expect you to believe me, but it would be nice." She said softly.

"Why should I believe you, Katniss? Why should I even bother? That last week in the games, you made me fall in love with you, more than I already was, because I thought that the feelings were mutual. Why should I trust you this time? How do I know that this isn't just another plan of yours to manipulate me into doing what you please?" His words were cool and icy.

The words hurt, they stung. It was as if he had just smacked her in the face. "I'm not a person in the Capitol!" She screamed before remembering where she was. "I didn't do it to hurt you! I did it to keep us both alive!" She defended herself, moving so that she wasn't sitting so close to him.

"You might as well be." He shook his head at her, looking down. "I was just a piece in your games, wasn't I, Katniss?"

There was a shrill moment of silence, as Katniss tried to contain herself from ripping his head off. She saved him, and he saved her. They were supposed to be even, but this is the thanks she gets? Peeta tearing her down for things she already felt bad about? This wasn't how it was supposed to work.

"No. You weren't. I'm not someone of the Capitol. I'm not. So don't you dare sit there and try and act like I was the only person manipulating people! I did what I needed to, Peeta!" She cried. "I don't understand why you're acting this way!"

Katniss was now on her feet, agitated and upset. At herself, and at Peeta. She had let him in again, far enough that his words were able to thrash around in her brain. She closed her eyes as she bit her lip and fought back the tears that wanted to escape.

She wanted to run, run as far away as possible. But she didn't, she stayed in place. Because no matter what he did to her, and no matter what he said, they were a part of a team. A band of two people who were trying so desperately to stay alive, against all odds.

She walked to the other tree, across from the one that Peeta was sitting at. She slid down, holding her knees against her chest. That's when she felt it, a small sob, fighting it's way through her body and escaping her lips. She didn't want his words to hurt her so much, but they did, they had, and there was nothing she could really do about it now.

She felt the small cries wrack her body, she buried her face in her knees trying to conceal it. But it wasn't possible for her. What was she even doing? She didn't cry, not in front of everyone. She was supposed to be tough.

She tried to stop the tears from flowing by covering her face. But that only seemed to make things worse. She felt Peeta sit beside her and pull her into his arms. She felt like she did when they were in the cave, and she gave into the cravings of the feelings she had to him and cuddled into his side.

He stroked her hair out of her face and kissed her head. "I'm sorry." He whispered to her as he held her even closer. "Don't cry, Katniss. Don't cry." He murmured, kissing her head again.

She didn't understand what was her comfort with Peeta, or why he had such an effect on her. She didn't understand why her problems seemed to fade whenever she was in his arms. Were the feelings only an act for the game? She didn't know, she just didn't want to lose the boy with the bread.

"D-don't be sorry." She stammered out, wiping her eyes once more. "I shouldn't have lied to you, during the games." She whispered, cuddling closer to him.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm sorry, because I know you were only trying to save both of us." He whispered, wiping a tear from his own eye.

They sat there on the floor of the forest, just wrapped up together. They didn't need to say much, they didn't need to say anything really. In this moment, they just needed each other. It was just like the arena, where anything could change in a heartbeat. Especially if Snow was looking for the two of them.

Katniss and Peeta lied down, on the ground of the forest, in one and others arms, finally at peace. That was, until they heard it. Prim's scream.


	4. Chapter 4

Katniss' body shot up right out of Peeta's arms as she jumped to her feet. She was aiming to run when she felt the grip of Peeta's hand on her arm. She pulled so that he could let her go, as she heard the incessant screaming of her younger sister.

Her heart raced in her ears as the many different possibilities flowed through her mind, how did she get here? With who? When? Why? How?

"Peeta! Let go!" She shouted at him, trying to pry his fingers off of her arm. She looked at him, her whole expression darkening. "Peeta!" She screamed getting out of his grasp.

"Katniss, you can't go! What if it's a trap! What if Snow found us and he knew the only way to lure you in was by using Prim's scream!" Peeta said, ultimately analyzing the situation.

"Then let him kill me." She said defiantly, as she stomped in the direction of the forest. She remembered, that if she stomped, she might scare people off. No matter how angry she was, she made it her mission to be as silent as possible.

The screaming was still going strong when she reached the clearing, but there was nothing. No one was there, and as soon as she stepped foot in the clearing, the screaming stopped. Her heart was aching as it was pounding in her ears, she looked around, her bow at the ready.

"Who's there?" She asked, looking around, just ready to attack anyone and everyone. She took a deep breath, climbing up in a tree, but there was no one as far as the eye could see. She sighed as she climbed back down. She looked around, heading back to camp.

That's when she heard it again, another round of Prim's screaming in another part of the forest, she raced towards it, her little sister now shouting her name... But she realized this time, it wasn't Prim's voice, it was Rue's.

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she seemed to have stopped in her tracks. Her bow had fallen to the floor and the wind had seemed to be knocked out of her.

Rue, the little girl that reminded her of her sister, who she had teamed up with for the Games. The girl that she was too late to save. She felt the tears form in her eyes. She didn't know what was going on, she wasn't intending on waiting too long to find out.

When she reached the part of the forest where her name was being shouted, she was stunned by the sight. In front of her, was the exact sight from the Games. She didn't know who was responsible for it, or why. The only thing that she knew is that it was terrifying. She looked at Rue's corpse...

All the memories seemed to have flooded back, when she heard a pair of footsteps behind her. "I thought we agreed not to lie to each other, Miss Everdeen." She knew that voice, she would know that voice anywhere. It was the voice of the president of her country. President Snow.

"What do you mean?" She said, trying not to show any trace of fear in her inflections. She removed the spear from Rue's body, well she tried to, her hand went right through it. It was a hologram. She turned around to look at him.

"You know exactly what I mean, running away, hiding in the woods. I thought we agreed that you would stay where you knew that I could find you." He said, looking right at her. She did nothing to avoid his snake like eyes. Not in the slightest. "Where is your... boyfriend?" He asked her, and she shrugged. "What? You two broken up?" He asked with a small taunt in his voice.

"No." She said to him. "He's just not with me right now. He's still in the District." Which was a complete lie, but what was she supposed to tell him? That Peeta was sitting in the forest, praying that Katniss didn't become ground meat in the next hour or so.

"Oh, is that right? Then why is his mother crying and frantically looking for him." He looked right at her, as if he saw right through her, he was trying to shatter her confidence indefinetly.

"He's not here, President Snow. He's not. And if he's not in the district, then I have no idea where he is." She said to him.

"Fine, I'll take your word for it. But if I go back to twelve, and he's not there... It's a bullet through the skull for both of you." He said, as the ladder from the hovercraft lowered.

When the hovercraft departed, Katniss took off to the woods, her boots creating a steady rhythm against the floor. "Peeta! Peeta!" She shouted frantically, her fears set on high. "Peeta!" She screamed again as she got back to the camp, he was nowhere to be found. "Peeta!" She screamed, looking around for him. She ran her fingers through her hair, clearly distressed. They needed to get back to District twelve as soon as possible.

"Pee-" She said, bumping right into him. She looked at him, taking a deep calming breath before throwing her arms over his shoulders, holding onto him tightly. "We need to go back. To the district. Before. We're all killed." She said, taking deep breaths between each sentence.

"Katniss! We can't do that! You know we can't do that! Snow is going to kill me!" He said, his emotions set on high as well.

"We have to!" She protested.

"We can't!"

"Peeta! We have to, or Snow is going to shoot us both in the head!" She said, her scream faltering at the end.

"Katniss... What are you-"

"I bumped into Snow, in the woods, your mother is looking for you. And he said if you're not in the district, when he searches, that we'll both be executed." She felt the tears form in her eyes. "Peeta, what do we do!" She asked him. His eyes blank.

"I don't... I don't know."

"Peeta, think of something!" She said to him, her heart racing.

"I guess... We have to head back." he said, hanging his head in defeat. "Katniss... If I die..."

"Damn you, Peeta! We're not discussing this again!" Katniss said, now angry.

"You're not going to die. We're going to figure this out. We'll take our families, and we'll run."


	5. Chapter 5

Katniss and Peeta walked the long walk back to their District. Katniss was breathing heavily as they've been walking for hours. Katniss ran her fingers through her hair, trying to calm down, but she couldn't. Not in any form of fashion. The sound of Prim's scream still rang fresh in her ears, but she couldn't stop walking, she knew that she couldn't. So she carried on through the woods, stepping over branches as the sounds of Mockingjays filled the air.

Katniss felt Peeta's eyes trained on her, she turned her head to him, gave him a sad smile before looking back to the floor. She thought that they had covered their tracks successfully, but she was wrong. She sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Peeta." She said softly, looking at him once more.

"Katniss, it's not your fault, that he knows where we were... At least I know that we'll be safe in the District." He said softly, lacing his fingers with her.

"How can you be so sure, Peeta?" She said, saying exactly what he was afraid to. She seemed to be getting better at that lately.

"I don't. But I'm going to have hope that he's not going to try and kill me." After that, there was silence. Not a word was spoken between either of them. Katniss quietly walked, while Peeta basically stomped. A small smile spread across her lips.

"You're never going to learn how to be quiet in the woods, are you, Peeta?" She looked at him, the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. He shook his head, a small smile forming as well.

"You're just going to have to spend more time teaching me, I suppose." He said, kissing her head softly. He looked at her, he didn't understand why she had the impact on him that she did. He would never understand it, it was an unspoken bond that they shared after the games. Just between the two of them, something no one could take away from him.

"But you're a horrible student," She began to protest. "Why would I teach you? You didn't learn when we were fighting for our lives." She giggled.

"Good point." He said, continuing to walk with her.

Peeta was going to go right under the fence, until the sudden pull of Katniss was on his arm, and he was launched behind her. Katniss' body was tense as she looked at the fence, a sense of disbelief on her face, she didn't understand what she was going to do. Peeta looked at her, puzzled. "Katniss..." he said softly, just trying to piece together what was going on. "Katniss? What's going on?"

Katniss picked up a twig, throwing it at the fence, and when it hit the fence, it was instantly barbequed. "How the... Damn it. How the hell are we supposed to get back on the other side!" She screamed, so upset, so angry.

The fence that separated the district from the forest was never powered, ever. Katniss and Gale used to come into the forest all of the time, because of the lack of protection that was presented. That was how Katniss and Gale got food for their families before Katniss was put into the Games with Peeta. Before she got her house in Victor's Village. When things were simpler for her, and her family.

The thought of Gale simply made her stomach churn, she wondered what was going on in the District. Specifically with him, she hadn't heard much of him recently since he worked in the mines. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "We can't go under it, and you can't climb trees." She said while she processed what she was going to do.

"I can try to climb it." Peeta said, just trying to make things easier on her.

"Peeta, you can't with your leg! You could barely hold me up when we went on the Victory tour." She reasoned with him. He sighed, nodding.

"You're right. So what do we do?" He asked her, and for the first time in a long time, Katniss had no idea what to do in the woods. "Katniss..."

"Peeta, just, shh, for a second, please!" She said, her heart racing. She didn't know what to do with herself. How the hell was she going to keep the boy with the bread safe, in the district, if she's been blocked out. "You can try to go under..." She said softly.

"What? You're going to lift the wire?" He asked her, he knew that she was one to do ridiculously dangerous things to keep both of them safe. When she didn't respond, he shook his head. "I'd rather climb the tree. You'll hurt yourself, and be killed if you touch that wire."

"But you'll be safe!" She reasoned.

"But I won't be sane, Katniss. I have no one back in the district, you know that. I've told you that before, alright?" She sighed, her shoulders slumping as she tried to think of another thing to do.

"Alright, you can try and climb this tree, okay?" She just gave up trying to argue with him, she knew it was no use. She was fully aware that arguing with Peeta would do nothing but create tension that was unnecessary between the two of them.

When Peeta was only three branches up, he started to wobble. "Peeta... Come down. I'll think of something else."

"Katniss, what if we can't back in the district, then what?" He asked her.

"Then we'll think of another way to keep you safe." She said softly.

But that's when it happened, Gale went right through the fence. "Hey, Catnip." He said to her.

"The fence is off?" She asked him, he nodded in response, taking off. "Gale be careful!" She called after him as she and Peeta went back into the District, not knowing that Gale was right behind them.

The minute she and Peeta made it back into the district, there were peacekeepers on either side of her, and she and Peeta were both handcuffed. Her heart seemed to be in her throat. So this is where I die? She thought to herself.

"Oh, hey guys." Gale said to them, as he passed Katniss and Peeta being handcuffed. They both gave him a nod. Katniss face only showed confusion, hurt, and anger. Her best friend was working with the enemy.


	6. Chapter 6

Katniss thrashed in the peacekeeper's grasp. She didn't understand what was going on. She couldn't even imagine what would possess Gale to work with the enemy. Her eyes looked into this, they looked cold, empty. They weren't warm, they didn't have a hint of a smile in them. He looked as if he were stone.

"Gale..." She said, as she stopped thrashing in the peacekeeper's arms. The peacekeeper's grip only got tighter on her. He said nothing, he did nothing. "Gale." She repeated herself, but again. She was ignored. "Gale Hawthorne!" She screamed, tears filling her eyes, this time his head snapping up.

"What do you want, Katniss." He said to her. Katniss. He called her Katniss. She didn't understand what was going on. "What is it? Why did you call me?" He asked her, his voice rough towards her. A look of pure hatred in his expression. She couldn't imagine what she could have possibly done to make him look at her with the smoldering look he had on his face right at this very moment.

Peeta looked at Gale, and then back at Katniss. He wasn't struggling to fight, he was just observing every single moment. "Katniss... Katniss. He's hijacked." Peeta whispered.

The moment it was spoken, Peeta was automatically hit over the head by one of the peacekeeper's instantly being knocked out by a blow to the temple. Katniss screamed as she struggled against one of the peacekeeper's again. She screamed his name as she looked at his body on the floor. "Peeta!" She cried as the motion stopped in his body. "Why did you do that!" She shouted at the peacekeeper, but he ignored her. "Answer me!" She said, squirming out of the peacekeeper's grasp, still handcuffed.

She approached Gale, but his hands seemed to lock around her throat almost instantly. Her breath seemed to be caught in her throat as she kicked him in the gut, he fell back before approaching her once again. The peacekeeper kept him back, as the other one grabbed Katniss.

"You need to be calm, boy. I understand Snow gave you something to do, and you did it. I'm going to take you back to him now." He said calmly, Gale only nodding with each word that was spoken.

Katniss stood there, frozen and shocked at what just happened. Gale was working for Snow? Gale was hijacked? Her mind was reeling as her eyes traveled to Peeta's unconscious body still on the floor. Peeta was lifted to his feet by the peacekeeper as they walked back to District twelve.

Katniss didn't want to think that it was her that this was happening to, she wanted to imagine that she was still in the woods with Peeta. Not walking to her death with him, not walking back to the place where Snow can instantly blow her brains out. Not any of that. Katniss imagined that this was happening to a whole other girl, in a whole different dimension.

Peeta was roused from his unconsciousness as they approached the square, he only looked at Katniss as a state of confusion washed over him. Where were they? What were they doing? The confusion was obviously great as Katniss realized it herself.

"Peeta..." She spoke softly. She only used this voice when she was talking to Prim, the quiet voice that no one really got the chance to hear. "Peeta... can you hear me?" She whispered to him, as they were standing side-by-side with the peacekeepers. "Peeta..." He didn't seem to respond to her. "Peeta!" She said a little louder this time. His eyes showing no sense of recognition of the name.

He pointed to himself, "Are you talking to me?" He asked her. She nodded softly. "My name is Peeta?" She nodded again, she didn't realize why he was asking her, what his own name was... and then it registered. Peeta had amnesia from the blow to the temple.

"Could things get any worse." She mumbled to herself.

And they did get worse.

When they approached the district, it wasn't exactly a district. It was a place of ruins. Katniss looked around, her eyes watering. She looked to Peeta, and he looked back to her. This was their home, where they grew up. Where they spent countless days. This is where she was made into a woman.

The peacekeepers unhand-cuffed both of them, allowing them to walk around. "What happened here?" She asked one of the peacekeeper's.

She got no response. She repeated her question once more. No answer. She grabbed Peeta's hand and dragged him towards the Seam. Hoping to find any kind of indication of what happened.


End file.
